welcome, 2011 ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

To my family and friends, my loyal sheribloggins readers my facebook pals and their family and friends too - I wish you all the happiest of days in the upcoming year! 2010 has been very unforgiving and I am thrilled to see it go, I am hopeful for a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!! Cheers to you all!! Be safe and have a blast tonight!! Much love, Sheri

 

sweet...

My beautiful "Get Well" roses from Gregg. What a lovely surprise!

Now to keep them alive ... always a challenge!

update...

i ALMOST made it ...

Blah. Haven't been feeling good the past couple of days - sinus infection or something. I ALMOST made it a full year without being under the weather. The last time I was sick was New Years Eve 2009. Oh well. It could be much worse, I hear the stomach bug is going around. Even though that only lasts 24 hours I think I would rather be in this situation. I am trying to drink hot tea - which I loathe - to soothe my raw, scratchy throat that keeps me up all night. I have only slept about four hours in the past two days which is a far cry from my regular eight or nine per night. I am hoping tonight is different. I even tried an afternoon nap today to no avail. 

Foggy headed, I have spent the majority of my time on the couch or in my recliner watching movies and television. I did make a delicious roast in the crock pot today with carrots and celery and some mashed potatoes. I looked forward to it all day and man, it was well worth the wait. 

Gregg surprised me with pale pink roses - he feels bad when I can't sleep and don't feel well. How sweet is that?? I was so surprised, it was really nice. Mom came by this morning with some cough drops, more tissues and honey for my tea - another very sweet gesture. Sometimes I still feel like a little girl when I'm sick. Especially when my mom runs an errand for me. Ha ha. The great thing is that since I'm not working I don't have to deal with the guilt of having to call in sick or the horror of sitting in an office cubicle with a balloon head and three boxes of kleenex. I can rest up in the comfort of my own home, in owl pajamas with a red nose that is not masked with makeup.   

marshmallow majesty ...

I am in love with a good snow storm. I always get so excited when I hear the forecast saying "measurable snowfall". Immediately I start planning out my snow day. I don't usually look forward to storms that occur during the work week because that is just stressful and dangerous for everyone - but a weekend storm is always welcome here. On Christmas night we began to hear that the predicted storm was being upgraded to a blizzard. The term blizzard has lost some of its scariness over the past few years. What we have seen lately is nothing compared to the notorious blizzard of '78. But it is fun to think that you might be snowed-in ... with movies and pajamas and hot chocolate. The power outages, car accidents and dangerous break-downs, however, are not so fun.

Gregg was supposed to work today but eventually his employer made the right decision and closed the branch for the day. We spent our morning shoveling ... and shoveling ... and shoveling. I loathe it. I find it is a great workout but it really wears me down, quickly. Gregg always tells me to stay inside and that he will take care of it all but we do have a decent sized circular driveway, walkway, car and Jeep and the curb to tackle. It is a LOT of work for one person. All complaints aside I did enjoy watching the snow fall last night and took some pictures of its progression...

Also some pretty, little swirly pics...

And naturally Gregg captured some shots of Brody, the little snow fox...

Just like Gregg and me, Brody is all tuckered out and we'll all be spending the rest of this day quietly in our favorite resting spots. Hope those of you who got the snow enjoyed it and those of you who didn't don't envy us! Have a good day!

the day after

Ahhhhh... what a perfect day to relax. Well, I have spent most of it cleaning out and organizing my kitchen cabinets, making room for new Christmas gifts that we received and restoring peace to an otherwise chaotic mess. I feel much better now! Holidays bring with them lots of 'extras'. Extra food, extra tins on the counters, extra boxes, extra chairs, piles of homeless items etc. I have finally settled my brain by de-cluttering and condensing. Now it's time to enjoy the BLIZZARD!!

Christmas was wonderful. We had a really, really nice weekend. Family and friends gathered here for Christmas Eve. We picked on lots of goodies and enjoyed a few cocktails. Chasing Brody around the house stressed me RIGHT out but otherwise it was an enjoyable evening. Gregg and I woke around 7 o'clock for our much awaited Christmas morning. He gets his piece of Cranberry bread with cream cheese and I make a gallon of coffee and we sit and exchange gifts leisurely while Christmas music plays in the background. It is always one of our favorite times of the year. We didn't have to rush, we were able to make it to my mom's house at a decent time to exchange our gifts and have my favorite meal of the year - manicotti (usually lasagna but mom switched it up this year), meatballs, eggplant parmesan, salad and antipasto. Mmmm I do wait a long 12 months for that delicious feast and it was awesome as usual. After dinner we headed to Gregg's sister's house for more gift exchanging and another dinner! Gregg was able to devour two helpings while I nibbled on a few chocolate covered pretzels. We were exhausted and went home to unload our wonderful presents, give Brody a bathroom break and slip into our PJs for some down time. We headed to bed after nodding off while playing some PS3. What a great holiday! 

I received so many wonderful things but I don't think you need to see me in my pajamas with an unpainted face and very tired eyes. So here are just a couple of my favorites...

my first Flapperdoodle prints!!!

 ...and two pairs of amazing boots 

(I've already worn the gray ones and they are awwwesommmme)

I am so blessed to have the amazing family and friends that I do and of course my soul-mate/husband who I simply couldn't live a day without. I am so incredibly thankful and grateful for them all. 

We have had a very tough year and I am going to use these new boots to kick 2010 out the door and kick 2011's ass!! Watch out New Year... I'm comin' for ya.  

holiday playlist with poll results ...

Happy Holidays!!
(Hope you enjoy some of my favorite Christmas songs)

Well, the Holiday Poll is closed as of this morning and I'd like to thank you all for voting! It has been decided (by 53% of you) that spending time with family is your favorite part of the holiday season. Next up is gift giving (34%), 12% of you voted for watching Christmas movies and specials, 9% said that decorating the tree is their favorite moment and a sneaky little 2% voted for opening presents! Hahaha I knew SOMEONE would do it (it's probably my husband)! Nobody chose holiday shopping - which is surprising to me! I actually very much enjoy shopping - from the comfort of my crappy computer chair that is! Whichever part is your most favorite I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones doing just what you wish! Merry Christmas to you and yours, with LOVE ~ Sheri

sheri crocker part two ... also the final chapter

I believe I have completed my entries for the baking extravaganza 2010. Oh what a time we've had. I am SOOOOO thankful for double wall ovens and the plethora of cookie sheets that we own. Things ran like a well-oiled machine in that kitchen today. Cookie sheets came out of the oven, cookies rested for a minute, then were transferred to cooling racks, after baking sheets were cooled they were filled with new cookies and thrown into the oven, the ones on the cooling rack were then transferred to an airtight container while cooling cookies then took their place. Quite the assembly line indeed.

Today's list of goodies?

Gingerbread cookies

Peanut Butter cookies

Sugar cookies

Chocolate Chip cookies

Glazed pecans

I know you don't believe me so here's proof ... 

 

and the baking has begun...

I officially started my holiday baking today. Not that I am thrilled about it. I am not a person who enjoys baking - at all - or the mess that goes along with it. I loathe measurements and cooking accuracy... I'm a 'fly by the oil in my pan' kinda gal when it comes to preparing food. This is why I prefer to create a massive amount of sausage & peppers rather than a stinkin' apple brown betty.

So today I decided to make chocolate dipped macaroons and cake bites. Easy enough and yet somehow still a pain in the ass. 

All my ducks in a row

The little darlings a'cookin

Pretty sure I took these out too soon (as I do with everything) for fear of burning them

 I kinda hate dipping things in chocolate - not gonna lie

Definitely getting prettier--- and messier

Awww can't argue with an adorable tin

or two adorable tins

Now that's an ugly tin and the macaroons kinda look like crap but hey, what can ya really do? I did my best!

morning view...

Here are a few blurry early morning shots...

I couldn't resist snapping pictures of that bright white moon or the tinted clouds. I love early morning sunlight.

let it go already...

Earlier today I was engaged in a conversation that made my blood boil. There were three of us speaking freely about a certain situation and we were all just venting and allowing our emotions to explode without holding back. During this chat I learned of things that had been said that were quite unflattering. Forgive me for being so vague but this is a sensitive topic and I don't really like to air my filthy laundry... but I do like to get things off my chest. SO my point here is that hours later my blood is just as hot. I cannot let things be. 

I have been doing some chores and things around the house, wrapping presents and such and all the while I can feel the anger in the muscles in my face. I am all tensed up and my lips are pursed and jaw is clenched. I keep thinking, ah screw it, it's not worth it, but the proud little Taurus inside me is much more powerful than the 'good voice'. What I would love to do is retaliate. I would love to be able to see this vindictive garbage-talker and let it discuss its feelings with me to my face. Not that I am a fighter - by NO MEANS. I loathe fights. I do however enjoy the opportunity to defend myself and the people that I love. I know in my heart that I am better than this beast that I become when enraged and provoked. I would never act out by contacting this douchebag with my aggression. Though the problem is that I have a really hard time getting it out of my system. I will dwell on it. I will dwell on it for DAYS. Every so often I will bring it up out loud, usually saying the same thing over and over again until something inside me decides that I am done dealing with it. Man, it drives me insane.    

clean or dirty?

Here is a simple yet creative and practical alternative to guessing whether the dishwasher holds clean or dirty dishes. I came up with this last year when I painted the kitchen and was about to dispose of the paint card...

The materials are simply the paint card (which is guaranteed to match the wall color- *wink*), a 4x6 magnetic photo sleeve, a writing utensil and some paper - I happened to have matching apple-shaped sticky notes. I think you can figure out the rest!